Maximum Ride 4: More Like Us Out There, Who Knew?
by StarSerallina
Summary: When a some girl posts a comment on Fang's blog saying that she has wings and wants the help, the flock flies to Chicago to meet her. Turns out, no joke! There might be other bird kids out there! And they want to help save the world too!
1. Wake up people!

Part One- Another Pair of Wings to Our Flock?

**1: Wake Up People!**

After leaving Ella's house in Arizona I had lost the feeling of comfort. We were out in the world again and we had a mission: To save the world.

But right now, the flock and I were safe. For now.

We were maybe 50 miles north of where we were yesterday, and near a forest. It was probably about 6am now and the sun was rising.

Me, Fang and Iggy were up now. Iggy was cooking over a campfire he'd started. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. And he used the frying pan that Nudge had begged fang and me to get. Since we were short on cash, our only choice had been to lift it.

Fang was out gathering some edible berries in the forest and firewood.

Total jumped up. "Bacon!" He ran over to where Iggy was frying. "Is it done yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," Iggy replied.

I walked over to where the three little ones were. Both Nudge and the Gasman were sleeping like logs. Snoring quietly.

Angel looked like a sweet, well, a sweet little angel as she slept. It was too bad I had to wake them up.

"Up, up, up! It's time to get up!" I clapped in their faces. They just shifted their positions. "Breakfast!" I called out. Immediately, they all shot up.

"What's cooking?" asked Gazzy. I gave a little smile

"Bacon," Iggy replied.

"Wake me up when it's done," Nudge grumbled sleepily. I went over to her a shook her, but she just resisted "Just let me sleep."

"Food's ready!" Iggy exclaimed. Nudge jump and total to, but I realized it was just to wake Nudge up.

Fang trudged through the grass carrying wood and some other stuff. He set the wood down in the fire as Iggy kept cooking. "There, that's the last of it," he said.

In the back of my mind I was still thinking of what had happen back in Germany. Was the director still alive? Were the clone versions of us alive too? And poor, poor, Ari. I hope he's in a better place. I was just so happy the flock was okay though, especially my sweet little Angel.

"I love you too Max," she said as she hugged me. She can read minds, of course. And not only that but she can breathe under water, talk to fish and control people with her mind!

We all sort of have a special ability, you see. I can fly at high speeds. Iggy's blind so he has extra good hearing and other senses which are not sight. Nudge has psychometric powers which are that she can tell what people touched something, and she's an expert computer hacker. The Gasman can imitate voices and sound very well. Fang doesn't seem to have one I guess. He is the strongest, but I'm not sure if that's an extra "power." He is the "alpha male." I guess he was created out of the super-power genes.

We all had wings and are stronger than your average/strong human, if I haven't mentioned already.

Then I started wondering to myself again. What is there are other kids out there like us? Ones with wings maybe. What if they been living a normal life this whole time. We've been cheated out of that because we were raised at the School! It was one evil place were vicious wolf-man creatures called erasers were the guards. I'm glad I'll never have to go back there ever again...


	2. Meet The Adopted Bird Kid

**2: Meet the Adopted Bird Kid**

_**6 pm Central Standard Time, last night.**_

Fourteen-year old Sera Langston rushed home after getting a phone call about there being a big surprise at home waiting for her. She left her best friend Kari at the Dunkin Donuts and she grabbed her bike and peddled. Less than ten minutes later she opened the front door.

That's strange, she thought. The house is empty! "Mom? Dad!" She yelled up stairs. No answer. She walked into the backyard that opened into a forest. No one was there either. The she heard a _Beep, Beep. _

_She turned around. And a man in a black suit grabbed her. "What are you doing!?" she asked. _

"I am sorry Miss Langston. We have to take you in for research. The rest is classified," he said in a solid tone.

She shot him the confused look. "Let me go! I'm not any importance. I'm only human!" She struggled. Then she remembered one or the twenty-three hand techniques from her Tang-Soo-Du class. The one called "Monkey" would get her out of the grip. Sera was only a High-Green belt, but she was pretty good.

"Hiiii!" she Ke-Yupped as she threw his hand out. Then she grabbed him and tripped him. He fell. She took a brick that was later to be used for as landscaping, and dropped it on the guy's head.

"No! You little bitch! What the hell are you doing!?" _Thump_. He was out cold. _Ow! That brick was heavy_, she thought. She was normally very weak. She was unable to do knuckle push-ups in her karate class when everyone else could.

Then strangely enough, two wolves can out from the forestry of her yard and they had wings! She heard about these on Fang's blog. Flying Erasers! But she thought that all of them were dead! "Time to be terminated," one said in a metallic voice. Robots? Flyboys!

"What are you!?"

"I am flyboy 2.0. Better than Fly Boy 1. Time to die," he replied. He had a well attached gun. She kicked him. Nothing happened.

Note to Self: The flock wasn't joking about Fly boys! She thought. But why were they attacking her? Wait! Was she a mutant? Was she like the flock? The flyboy's gun shot a bullet and in not even a split second as it happened, she knew what to do.

Hands out, feel the power! Pure energy shot out of her hand leaving the Flyboy's fur covered metal body, cold and life less. The other flyboy looked at her and flew up above her. She felt a weird tingly sensation in the uncovered space of her back. She thought it was the wind moving her hair but it wasn't.

She didn't know it or see it but above her fancy spaghetti strap top's back line, a small layer of skin gave way on her should blades. They unlocked and a pair of big, pure white unfurled. She felt the unknown limbs go from numb to complete control over then in that moment.

She could feel them flap, and she made them flap harder as she went airborne for the first time in her life. It was scary, but she has to overpower this flyboy. She flew up and kicked him in the stomach. Crack! She backed up and shot an energy ball at it and it finally fell.

She looked at what she had done after that happened and realized that she knocked a big guy out and fried two Flyboy robots. Wow. She'd out done herself beyond expectation. Then a thought came to her.

What she adopted? She did look slightly different from her parents. She was almost taller than them, about five-foot-seven and she was really smart. She wasn't very strong or fast. She had awesome hearing and a great mind. She could know thing before they were said or where thing were.

She could sometimes just see with her mind. Then a picture came to her. She ran upstairs and searched though files upon files. Nothing. Then she went to her Dad's dresser. She had always been told not to go through it. Finally in the last drawer, "Ah ha!"

Tear spilled down her face as she looked at the papers. The last one was a certificate. "Sera Lightwing", adopted 12-14-92. At exactly four months old. So they even lied about her birthday! By two days only. Maybe they liked the number six-teen better.

A sound came from down stairs. "Hello?" The front door. _Dad's home, _she thought. The woman's voice. Her mom. Sera ran down stair and yelled at her parents.

"I can't believe you lied to me!" Tear streaming down her face which was red and puffy. She shoved the adoption certificate in their faces. "I hate you! You lied to me my whole life! I am not really your daughter!" She took all the papers and ran upstairs as her parents started arguing with each other.

Her parents always fight. She's surprised they haven't divorced yet, but there's been a money situation, so that's probably why, since her mom doesn't have a job. She slammed the door of her room behind her.

She grabbed the stuff that meant something to her. Photos, her iPod, note books. Her secret food stash and some necklaces and art stuff. All her money and credit cards. Her cell phone. And clothes, a jacket. Whatever she might need, and stuffed it in a back pack.

Her face was still red hot with anger and sadness. She took out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote this:

_I am leaving home, running away. Don't bother to come looking for me. You won't find me, ever. Not where I'm going. Don't worry about me. I doubt you even care, so left this note just in case you do. Forget me. Forget me with all the lies you told me. Make everybody forget me. You will never see me or hear from me again._

_-Love your Adopted Daughter, _

_Sera Lightwing_

She grabbed her satellite laptop and opened it. Her father gave it to her for her birthday last year. It was a special laptop with a satellite hook-up. Her father who worked for some secret bio-tech organization must have put in some favors to get his hands on it.

Sera went on the computer a lot! On there she was known as Star to all her internet buddies. She wrote stories and posted artwork. She had her own website and blog even.

She went straight to Fang's blog and he had just posted. She pressed the "Leave a message or comment" button and typed this:

_**Comment on Fang's Blog; 8pm**_

_Sera (Star) from Chicago_

_Dear Fang and the Flock,_

_You'll never guess what I'm about to tell you..._

_I got wings! And these freaking energy controlling abilities. Weird, huh? I think I'm like you guys! Probably some sort of recumbent DNA human-avian hybrid. My wings are pure white and 13 feet across. I have long straight blond hair. Blue gray eyes. Fair skin with some freckles and I am five and a half feet tall. I am 14 years old. I can help you save the world. And yes, there are others out there like you. I just ended up in a normal family life. This is not a joke. I am serious. I can help you! Meet me somewhere in Chicago ASAP where ever you all are!_

_A girl who wants to help save the world,_

_Sera a.k.a. Star_

_P.S. I am running away from home._

She shut it down and closed it up. Then she opened her window wide as it could go. She put her backpack on and told herself: take a deep breath, fly away and don't look back.

She wasn't needed here anymore. She wasn't wanted. She was too extraordinary to live the normal life anymore. She had to do this. She had to leave.

There was intense banging at the door. "Sera! Open up! We need to talk! Now!" It was her Dad. He sounded mad.

"No, Derek! Let her rest! She's had a lot to take in," her mom said behind the door, sounding worried. But Sera didn't care. She just looked out into the clear night sky and let herself fall. She let go of her family worries. Of her friend. Her life.

And she flew. She flew all the way to Chicago. All night long, not knowing what was in store for tomorrow. Or were her next meal was coming from. She just flew away from everything that she knew.


	3. Hunger Pains and Comment Rains

**3: Hunger Pains and Comment Rains**

We've been flying all day. We decided to travel north east because it seemed the most logical, since we might have to go back to Germany soon, anyway. May as well head in that direction!

"I'm tiered, Max. And hungry," complained the Gasman. He flew closer to me.

"Me too. Can we eat soon? Can we stop for lunch Please? Can we have McDonalds? Or Burger King? They have onion rings you know! Please Max? Or..."

"Shut the heck up!" Fang yelled and Nudge immediately went silent.

"Max, I'm hungry too. Can we stop for pizza?" Angel asked sweetly.

"Or tacos," Iggy suggested. Total perked up and tong was hanging out, drooling.

"Sounds good to me!" he exclaimed.

"Okay, fine! Let's spot some easy fast food restaurant then," I gave in. I need to eat too! With our special abilities and traits comes the need for fuel, and lots of it! Flying burns a lot of calories!

"I think I see a KFC!" Gazzy shouted, flying out of formation, again.

"Oh please! Eating chicken is like half-cannibalism. Plus it's not cheap. Don't you see a Wendy's or something?" I asked. Not that I didn't like fried chicken.

"What do you see?" asked Iggy, whose blindness made him unable to contribute in this situation. But when it comes to cooking, he's the man!

"I spy with my little eye, something that's yellow," said Angel. I zoomed in with my super-acute vision.

"Hi ho! Golden arches just below!" I cried out.

"McDonalds? Oo! I want a cheese burger happy meal with two double cheese burgers, maybe some extra fries and nuggets and a strawberry milk shake, and..." Nudge motor-mouthed. And we haven't even landed yet!

"Down we go," I said as a started to dive bomb for 10,000 feet. It felt wonderful for that moment. Until I had to open my wings like a parachute before we went splat!  
After we all made a safe landing, and walked into the building, we all started making our very long orders. The register guy looked at us like we were crazy food freaks, which we were. The little ones are bottomless pits! It took ten minutes for then to get all of our orders to us.

We carried our food outside to the picnic benches on one side of the building. We took up two of the tables. Everybody but me was eating like pigs, or hungry vulture I should say. Chowing down like they haven't eaten in a month. The boys were done first, of course.

I watched Fang open is laptop and go to his blog. He started reading a long list of messages and comments. I heard a couple "huh?"'s and "mmhmm"'s come from him as he read through some random messages.

Then he got this weird look on his face. Like a concerned and surprised look.

"What?" I asked him.

"It's nothing, really. Just a strange message, that's all," he replied.

"What's it say?" He looked at the screen, then back at me.

"This girl our age, she's some kind of run away. She wants to help us save the world. Oh yeah, and she claims to have wings too," he explained. _Oh yeah, she has wings? Yeah right!_

"I doubt that. We're the only mutants left probably," I said. If there really are others left, they might as well run and hide with normal families. "Let me see the message." He hand me the laptop.

I read through it. She wants us to meet her in Chicago? It must be a trick or a test. I looked up from the screen. "Chicago? Are we really gonna go there? It could be a trap!"

"Max, she was attacked by some flyboy! And who know what other mutants could be out there. They could all have been exterminated," he said. I love it when he's so sure of himself. But enough love-thoughts about Fang. Back to business!

"But what if! What if there's just more flyboy waiting to kill us when we get there?"

"What if, Max? What if?" He gave me a stern look.

"You don't like other people joining our flock," I reminded him.

"Whatever." He backed off. Nailed him!

I had learned that there is always a catch or something that isn't right, from past experience. Max, it's not always a test. You can trust your instincts, but sometimes that only makes things worse. You could put another life in danger. Ahh...the Voice. Once again it succeeded in ruining my train of thought.

Actually, I had learned that Jeb was the Voice. Now I'm positive! But I still don't have a clue how he does it, if the chip is gone, anyway.

"Max. Really, I think we should go to Chicago. I'm sure she's not lying. Even if she is, we can handle it," Angel comforted me. She might have just read my mind again too.

Another bird kid like us? No, not like us. She might have lived a normal life with a normal family. I had my flock, and I had found out Jeb and Dr. Martinez was my blood parents, but my life had been so not normal. Most kids grow up with a mom or dad. Most kids haven't met an Eraser or have wings, though.

"Then we keep heading North East, toward Chicago!" Fang made it clear. We had to do this. We needed as much help a possible if we're going to save the world from the Re-Evolution.

"Okay, but this better not be some kinda joke. I'm trusting in your faith on this one," I said with a pouty look.

There was that darn humming sound again, and you know what that means!

"Max, I think we got bigger problems in our hands at the moment," Fang said, looking less tough. It made me know, I'm the tough one, and that's a sure thing!

I looked up and saw what he meant. Major crap! And that would be a huge understatement.

Hundreds of flyboys flew above us, and we were so totally out numbered.


	4. River Battle

**4: River Battle**

Don't you just hate unexpected surprises from un-welcomed guests? I sure do! Especially when it's like...seven hundred guests. And they all want to kill you. Actually, they're programmed to kill you! So that only makes it a thousand times worse. And once you do say, "Couldn't get worse than this," it does!

Well the battle went something like this. We were somewhere in the middle of Kansas. That's all we knew about our location. We lead the flyboys in the air away from the McDonalds we had ate at, to what looked to be a dead corn field.

"So? And weaknesses that they had I should know about?" I eyed Fang's tall, dark and handsome body. Ah! There I go again! Even in the face of death.

"Well, they're highly flammable. And the off switch is somewhere under their tail," he told me.

"We don't have time to disable them one-by-one. Think big, Fang!" How had he destroyed that big army that followed him? Something about a lake.

"Water, it's a major weakness," he said.

"What? Is a fire hose really going to help? What do you mean by water?" I asked.

"We had to drop straight down into a lake. It hurt, a lot." He gave a funny painful face. "It's quick and efficient. They all fallow you. It's probably our best bet."

A flyboy came from behind us and I kick it under the tail, and it dropped. If I had to do that a thousand more times, I'd probably lose use of my legs because metal is painful to kick.

If we did what Fang suggested we might hurt for a few days. Let's go with what he says! But where would we find a lake big enough out in the middle of nowhere? "Everybody, fallow me," I said as I scanned the skies for a lake. All I saw was farm land. Endless fields of wheat and corn. Maybe a gas station or two.

But this was a real rural area. I spotted a river, but it was small. But all rivers come from bigger rivers! Don't they? I flew toward it and followed it up stream. "Max! Look!" cried Gazzy.

There was a large river coming up. I saw a bridge too, and the words "Welcome to Missouri" in big letters. So this was the Missouri river! "Are you guys ready?" I asked, as I did a one-eighty in the air and flew straight up for two seconds, and flipped my body over for a dive bomb. "Go!" I screamed.

And we all free fall head first into the Missouri River. Total screamed like a girl as we were about to hit the water. The flyboy following us like the mindless motion censored robot they are. Within that split second we made impact, I realized Fang was right.

Water isn't water no more when you fall from over a thousand feet in the air. Once gravity kicks in, you know you're going to hurt, a lot. It felt like falling head first onto a plain of steel and concrete. Not fun.

I knew Angel would be okay in the water since she can breathe underwater. I'm one-hundred per-cent sure I mentioned that already, but just checking. I made my way to the surface, coughing as I saw the flyboys coming down by the hundreds and thought, what a splash! Better get out of here before they all shock us to death!

"Hurry! Get to the shore!" We all were good swimmers, practically Olympic quality, but Angel still beat us all. I walked to the shore waiting for the fireworks to happen. But nothing but littered robot parts ended up in the river. Not big after shock.

Total made a hacking sound and suddenly a fish fell beneath him. "I like my food cooked, skinned and cleaned, thank you very much," he said as her shook the water off his fur.

"Well, he thinks you taste funny too," Angel obviously meant the fish, when she said "he." She can talk to fish. Weird, yeah! We all laughed.

"So, where are we Max? Are we still in Kansas? Are we Max? Or another state, what the other state by Kansas, Max?" Nudge asked me. I smiled.

"We ain't in Kansas anymore," I said. Total looked at me like he wanted to bite. I giggled. Sorry! Not to confuse him with Toto! "We're in Missouri, one state away from Illinois, which Chicago is in. Dry off so we can get going."

We let our wings out for fifteen minutes and when they were dry, we sent off again. And to the people who keep that river clean by that bridge, I am so sorry! But we do have to save the world, you know. If we're dead, then who else will know what to do?


	5. Bird Kid in the Windy City

**5: Bird Kid in the Windy City**

After a couple hours of flying her fight real flight, Sera had made it to Chicago. She hadn't realized how much work flying really was. She was exhausted. And it was nearly Midnight.

She found a park and slept in the bushes the rest of the night. Before she fell asleep, thoughts zoomed around in her head. Being a run-away is hard, she realized. She had a pretty good life at home, but there was no turning back now.

She fell asleep finally, and she had this dream. It was her meeting the flock, and then more flyboys. Thousands of them and she didn't know what to do. It was horrible.

When she awoke, daylight shined bright through the trees. She got up and her stomach grumbled. She was hungry, but she was in Chicago! She was alone, no parents, no rules, and no problem. She had money and her parent's credit card. She could buy anything she wanted.

Sera was in Chicago before, with her parents. She knew most of my way around the city. Sears Tower, John Hancock observatory. Heck, she could just sit on the building for all she cared. She got a better view anyways.

Now she decided to lay low. Her laptop hidden in her bag. She also had her camera, and whatever else she brought. But the main this on her mind right now was food.

She found the first breakfast place that had reasonable prices and decided to eat there. She was so hungry! She looked at the menu, and when it was time to order, she ordered blue berry waffles, a chocolate muffin, a fruit and yogurt parfait and a glass of apple juice.

And when she finally got the food, she finished it all in less than ten minutes and left the place slightly refreshed. She didn't know that flying burned a lot of calories, so her metabolism went up.

And also, another thing she didn't know was that she was being followed. By a guy in a dark suit with a trench coat and sun glasses using a communicator device. He whispered "Subject SL081492C1 is on the go, heading for Michigan Ave and 22d street."

She could only hear the slightest of whispers in that little microphone. Was she subject SL081492C1? Her birthday was in there. And her initials. Then guy on the other line replied. "We're on it. Reinforcements are heading SSE at 70 mile per hour."

And then she made her way to a dark alley because she decided hiding was her best bet. But all of a sudden, she was cornered by three Flyboy 2.0's. The only way was up. And she was right by a very high building. She had to take her chances.

Sera whipped out her wings flew vertical. She was almost high enough that people would think she might be just an egret or something. Then she remembered, the flyboys fly! Well that was a given. _Duh_, she thought. "Time to be terminated," their voices rang.

"Oh, shut up!" She yelled.

"Time to die. You must die," they all chanted.

"I will not die, it is you who must die," she said. _Ha, now who has the unfair advantage_? She thought. She started feeling energy flow through her. She thought of light a heat, and a beam was created, shining from her palms.

She shot at the first one, but she missed. She chased after the flyboy as fast as she could, and finally got him. _Who's next? _

She did something different this time. She created a large energy ball and threw is at the two flyboys that flew side-by-side. The both went down. Then she looked were they were falling.

_Oh no! They're gonna hurt that kid! _She flew downward as fast as possible, dive bombing to the rescue. It was her nature to help the innocent. She always would help a child in trouble.

Somehow she thought off the flyboys moving to wear they won't hit anybody, and they did. They moved out of the way and the kid was safe. Did she just do telekinesis? She added that to the list of her strange abilities.

She flew down and landed in a tree, hoping no one saw her. But a couple people did. That kid didn't see her but those guys who were communicating to each other, did.

She took a break and checked for bruises. She only had one, and that was from yesterday. It was on her left leg. She decided the safest place to wait for the flock was on top of a sky scraper, so she was going to have to wait another few minutes to relax.

Thankfully she brought a jacket. Until the flock gets here, she thought. I guess I'm just going to freeze my but of on the Sears Tower.

"SL is on the move again," said that man. "What do we do?"

"Notding, ve vait. And ven de bird keeds take de bait, ve'll exterminate dem," said another man. He had a German act cent, so he wasn't that same guy from before.

And Sera didn't hear that because by that time she already was watching the view of the Windy City below her.


	6. St Louis for Supper

**6: St. Louis for Supper**

We must have taken a wrong turn because we ended up in St. Louis by supper time. Nudge called out, "Look! What's that arch? Max Do you know? It looks big, like a monument. Like the Washington Monument back in DC. But this is an arch and it's like darker-"

"That's the St. Louis Gateway Arch. It means we're almost to Illinois," I explained.

"Can we go see it? Please Max?! Please?" Angel gave me the puppy dog face. I hate when she does that.

"Please..," the Gasman joined in.

"That's not gonna work this time sweetie, sorry," I told her. Then my stomach growled. _Okay..._I thought, _but only because it's dinner time._

_"_Thanks Max!" she said, having obviously read my mind.

"We'll stop here for dinner. We'll have a little pick-nick so you kids can see the Arch," I said out loud.

We landed and ate lunch meat sandwiches, and finished off whatever else we had left to eat. Fang and Iggy went to the store to pick up some food for the mourning.

"It's _so_ big!" Nudge said standing in front of the monument. "Can we go up in it please?"

"But it cost money, and we don't have a lot of cash on us right now," I explained to her. They obviously didn't understand the concept of money yet and I didn't want to use the credit card we received to take out any money unless we absolutely needed it. That was probably how we were being tracked.

"Okay..." they sighed. I hate to let them down, because they're just kids. But I am the leader, and it is my job to protect them and make sure they survive.

"Besides, it's only a viewing tower thing with an elevator, and we already saw the city at great heights. Why would you want to go up and see it again? That's kind of redundant." Also they would like being stuck in an elevator with a bunch of people for a few minutes. We're kind of claustrophobic because we used to have to live in dog kennels.

"I guess that makes sense...This sandwich rocks! I love turkey, it taste so good..." Nudge rambled. She chomped down her sandwich in about four bites.

"Look, we got a lot going on and we're trying to get to some girl who could help us. Then we have to save the world. After that's over with, maybe we could have as much fun as we want. But right now we got some work on our hands," I lied it flat out to them. Fight now, fun later.

Footsteps came from behind us, and I had an idea who they were. "Boo!" yelled Fang and Iggy. Total barked. Gazzy and Angel screamed. Nudge screamed twice as long and twice as loud. _Gee_...that scare was unexpected.

No, they like to pull pranks. But usually it's Gazzy and Iggy. Not Fang so much. "That was so scary, I forgot to scream," I said sarcastically.

"I knew they were going to do that. I just felt like screaming, it's fun. And that's why I did," protested Angel.

"So, what'd you buy?" I asked.

"The usual. Bacon, eggs, and pancake mix. And a couple of other little things," Iggy said.

"Pancake mix!?" Gazzy exclaimed. His eyes lit up.

"Yeah, you know. The flat cakes you make in a frying pan," teased Fang.

"He knows what they are," I said. "Everybody done? Because I want to get somewhere in the next state before dark. And I want to get to Chicago by sometime tomorrow."

Everybody was ready to go. We waved by to St. Louis from the sky. We were past Spring Field by night fall. But we slept somewhere thirty miles south of Chicago that night. We stayed in the branches of a big maple tree and all said our good nights. Fang had the first watch. I was too exhausted to have any watch. _Sweet dreams, Max, _interrupted the Voice in my moment of peace. _Sweet dream to you too._


	7. The Flock Meets Sera

**7: The Flock Meets Sera**

Sera was getting worried they weren't coming. She took out her laptop and she went to Fang's blog and sent another message. She really hoped they'd read it soon. Better yet, that they would be here soon! She closed up the laptop and lied back for a bit. _Don't worry! They'll be here sooner or later! _She insured herself.

_**Comment on Fang's Blog; 10am**_

_Sera (Star) from Chicago_

_Hey! What the heck is taking you so long? I was already stalked by a guy in a trench coat! And a couple more flyboys attacked me. Please hurry! I'm hiding out on top of the Sears Tower. It's the tallest building in the city, so you won't miss it. I might be flying around it soon too, so if you see me, just say hey!_

_Seeya soon,_

_Sera/Star (call me Star please!)_

Fang closed his laptop. "We better get a move on. She's waiting," he said. We had just finished breakfast and were cleaning up. I know! We all got up really late today and it took forever to cook the food with the kind of fire wood we found out here.

We were not that far from Chicago according to the expressway sign I saw yesterday before we decided to call it a night. Maybe only thirty miles or so.

"She's been waiting. I could have been there faster than all of you! I could be there in maybe a few minutes if I wanted to!" I exclaimed. Obviously they could fly 250 miles per hour like I could.

"Okay! Ready?" Nudge said. We all nodded. We took a running start, shot out our wings and flapped. _Up, up and away. _When we were high enough we went into our usual formation.

Me in the front. Iggy holding Total on my left with Gazzy behind him. Fang to my right with Nudge and Angel following. Angel strapped Celeste, her stuffed bear with wings, to her.

At that height, it was only a few minutes until we could point out the Chicago Sky Line with Lake Michigan trailing behind it. We have the best eye sight you'll ever come upon!

"I think I see it!" the Gasman pointed. "Is that the Sears Tower?"

"Yeah, I think it is," I replied.

"Isn't it the biggest building in the United States? Right Max? You know, since some terrorist destroyed the Twin Towers in New York." Nudge indicated.

"I'm pretty sure it is," I said as I zoomed in on it. There was some fleck of white coming out on top of it. And I knew it wasn't a cloud because the rest of the sky was completely clear.

As we came closer to the city I noticed how much of a big city it really was. Cars, taxies, people...it was sort of like New York.

Iggy groaned. "I hate big cities. They're just so noisy," he said. With his super hearing, too much sound distracts his perception of where things are. Basically, his hearing is like his sight. So it's like you trying to pick out one person out of a crowd of people who had the same hair and skin color as that one person.

"Cities aren't that bad. They're the center of culture!" Total chimed in.

"And they have awesome hot dogs!" the Gasman added.

"Chicago hotdogs!" Angel said, which pointed out that Chicago was the place to be if you were a hot dog fan. And we saw that on various bill boards.

"I think I see her!" I shouted.

Sera circled the Sears tower for the 5th time in the last minute. Then she saw them. Six specks in the sky coming from the south west. And they weren't any kind of bird. She could tell that because they had feet- with sneakers.

Sera flew out to them. "Max!" she yelled. Max was the girl in the middle, she could tell. Then a weird sound came to her ears.

"Yes. I'm Max. Sera? Is that right," she said.

"Yes, but I prefer _Star_," Sera said to Max.

And then the buzzing got louder. Much louder. The sunlight disappeared from her skin. But there wasn't a cloud in the sky today! It had been sunny and clear. She looked up. But there wasn't a cloud above her.

At least not a rain cloud. "Flyboys!" Max yelled.

It was more than she had ever seen. And it might have been more than Max had ever seen. Thousands. _Oh...my...god._

"Ready for the water thing again?" She directed the question to the older boy who appeared to be Fang.

"Yeah, in Lake Michigan?" He said. What water thing? "But what about _Star_?"

"She can follow our lead," Max replied.

"You already have a plan? Can it actually destroy _this_ many? Cause I just got an idea," said Sera, thinking of how she might be able to help. "I have this power to emit energy and light, and it knocks out flyboys. I'm not sure if it will work on this many though. Maybe it I reflect it off the water, it might multiply its power."

"Well in that case, and because I don't want to feel like I hit concrete again, let's give it a shot!" Max swooped and started flying toward he Lake Front. Sera followed, as so did the rest of the Flock. And the flyboys too. They flew across Lake Shore Drive and made it far enough off shore to do this thing.

Sera looked back at Navy pier and watched as the swarm of flyboys head straight toward them. "Ready?" Max asked. Sera nodded. The flyboys flew overhead. Sera reached into her might to feel her whole body start to tingle.

_Think light. Think of reflecting and refracting through the droplets of water in the lake below. Think strong energy. Now, go!_

The rest of the flock moved out of the way as she shot a beam of energy down at the water, and in not even a millisecond, in shot back up. It hit the flyboy in waves, pulsing through the air. It reverberated in her ears as it disrupted each and every flyboy's reception field. They dropped like flies poisoned by bug spray.

Too bad she just totally littered Lake Michigan, and it would take months to clean up. But that's the price they'd have to pay if they were going to save the world.


	8. Let Star Join

**8: Let Star Join**

We landed in a forest nearby so no one would see us. I eyed Sera who looked tiered. Star, she wanted to be called. Then Star it is. And you guessed it! She wanted to join our flock!

"Can I? Please? I have no place to else to go! My family would never take me back, if they knew I was a freak. I'll help you guys save the world, I promise. Please..," she pleaded.

"You can join us, as long as you help us. You're not going to double cross us? Are you?" I asked her. She looked like she seriously wanted to help us. But I knew Fang couldn't accept any more flock additions. I let Ari join our flock because he was going to die soon anyway, and he did, sadly.

I missed Ari, knowing that he was my half-brother. But he had wanted to kill us, then he wanted to help us and we let him join. Fang broke up the flock after that, even though Ari turned out to be no threat at all.

"No! Of course I'd never double cross you guys! But I can join? Really?" her face lit up with excitement. She was probably a good girl, and didn't look at all suspicious too me. She'd probably do _anything_ for us.

Fang leaned into my ear and whispered, "Max, wait. She could be putting on an act. You don't know. She might be one of their new projects to get rid of us."

Right on cue! Fang, with his overly suspicious attitude. "Fang, just let her join! We are not going through this again, like last time with Ari, okay? She's just an innocent girl! She's our age, and she went to a _real_ school. Not the _School_. So, just...let her join."

All the kids seemed to be for it, even Angel. And she could read minds! "She's safe, Max. She really means what she says," Angel said.

I glanced at Fang. He sighed. "All right, she can join," he said. Star smiled and the kids cheered. And that's how we became a flock of eight, counting Total of course.

"So...east? We're going east?" asked Star.

"Yes! For now, at least," I replied. She groaned. I looked back at her. We had to rearrange our formation to include her. She was in between Iggy and Gazzy on my left side. Her long blond her was tied back in a ponytail. She struggled to keep up with us, obviously not an experienced flyer.

I looked ahead. The sky was peaceful with few clouds as we flew. "Star, so what was it like living with a normal family and going to a normal school, and having parents? Was it fun? I wish I had a normal life sometimes..." Nudge rambled.

"It was boring. Nothing exciting ever happened before and my parents weren't so great either," she replied in an unhappy tone.

"At least your parents cared about you," said Angel.

"Yeah, ours sold us to scientist, according to what we heard," Gazzy continued. I was then thankful the Director of Itex wasn't my mother. Dr. Martinez was way better, and I still wasn't sure about Jeb. He was so nice before and now he's just so confusing.

"I guess. But I was adopted and I still don't know my real parents," Star protested.

"Maybe that's for the best," Iggy said. I could hear total shifting in Iggy's arms, probably asleep. For once he's quiet!

"Why? Do you know your real parents?" she asked.

"Yeah, I met them and they lived near DC. They let me stay with them, and got this crazy idea to make money off of me by charging money for people to see, 'James, the Blind Bird Kid'" he explained with a touch of sarcasm.

"James?" Star sounded confused.

"Yeah, it was the name they gave me when I was born." Iggy let out another sigh. Touchy topic for him. Thank God we got him back.

"Never mind then..." Star kept quiet for a long time then. She was probably thinking or something. The rest of the flock flew in silence too.


	9. Love Dreams are What it Seems

**9: Love Dreams are What It Seems**

We landed in another place that had a population of only _us_. We did a wennie roast over a campfire that Iggy started. He showed Star how to start a campfire without using matches, gasoline and whatever he usually might use. He and Star were starting to get well-aquatinted.

He smiled, she giggled. It was very odd too watch. I couldn't stop thinking of how Fang and I didn't work out. Of how it probably was just me. I didn't really think that Star was really like-liking Iggy. In the normal world, people are just sympathetic to blind people.

She was just trying to be nice. And Fang hadn't said another word to me since I let her join. I miss the few days me and Fang spent together, a while back.

Star told us how her mom would make her do chores and clean her room. She told us about school, and how she was once the slowest runner in the class. "It's kinda weird, you know? That you guys turned out to be so athletic and_ me_? I must be a big mistake. It took me over ten minutes to run the mile. I'm slow...," she sighed.

I bet she was a big complainer too. But a few weeks with us, and we could fix that! She'll learn to be humble, homeless, and athletic in no time! "Hey? Did I mention we're sleeping in a tree?" I asked.

"A tree? That's weird. I rather sleep in the grass. I don't wanna wake up soar," she complained.

"Suit yourself. The tree's safer," I explained.

"Fine..." she groaned.

When we were ready to sleep, she volunteered to take first watch and promised she's wake me or Fang up if anything happened. "Don't worry! I'm not really tiered. I'm still on buzz from earlier. I usually stay up late anyways," she told us.

"Good night, anyways," I said as I lied down. Iggy was sitting up, awake still. Angel, Nudge, the Gasman and Total were all fast asleep by now. I felt like I could sleep. Fang started snoring too.

He tossed around on the branch. I lied awake for as long as I could remember until I drifted off. Off into a world where people have wings and me and Fang could be together forever.

"Max!" he shouted. "Max! Wake up!" My vision was blurred and I rubbed my eyes. I looked up as everything came into focus.

"F-faangg? Ist thaat youuuu?" I mumbled sheepishly.

"Yes, it's me. It's mourning, so get up and eat some bacon and eggs!" he shook me down from the low branch I slept on. "And don't worry, we let you sleep. Star woke me up for the second watch and I used the time to check my blog. Lots of kids out there want to help save the world too."

Star was chowing down the bacon, but obviously not going for the eggs. Picky, too _aye_?

"These are great!" she said with a mouthful. Iggy smiled his crocked smile.

"Iggy make the best bacon ever!" Nudge said. The others agreed.

"Give me some too! Don't rip me off cause I'm a dog! I don't just want table scraps!" Total begged. Iggy handed over a strip.

Star volunteered to clean up. She's very helpful. She wants to be with us so bad; I could see it in her eyes.

After we were all done and ready, we set off for another day of unexpected things.


	10. Hellocopter!

**10: Hellocopter!**

"What's that sound?" Gazzy broke the silence. I hadn't heard anything, and Iggy would have said something if he heard anything. But I did notice the look on his face that told me he had heard it too.

_Whip...whip...wosh... _Vibrations approached my ears. _Flyboys_? I thought. No, not fly boys. This sounded different, like a plane, or a... I paused. Helicopter.

I looked backward and saw a large black helicopter. It was maybe only a mile away, and it seemed to be following us. That's a bad sign.

As it got closer, I urged the flock to speed up. I couldn't just leave them behind. Star was flying to slow. She was almost dead weight compared to us, but she struggled to fly faster.

Then the helicopter caught up. I looked at its black shiny surface. The dark windows that blocked dangerous UV rays. I could almost make out the shapes of a few people in it.

I focused my eyes and gasped. _Oh...my...god_. I _knew_ who that woman was on the passenger's side. I recognized her, with the blond hair and brown eyes in a cold stare. Not only that, but I had _killed_ her! And now...she was back?

I high pitch sound rand from the vehicle as it swooped closer. "Hello _Max_," came out a familiar voice. She was the Director of Itex. She wanted _me_. "Are you ready to die?" And she wanted to killed _moi_.

"No, and I'll never be ready at this rate, so just back off!" I screamed. I flew up to the helicopter, careful to not o near it's spinning blade-like wings, and I kicked the base of it with all my might. It shook.

The rest of the flock was circling it like hungry, angry, vultures. Star looked like she was about to create one of her energy blast. She flew closer to the helicopter's window as her finger started to sparkle. Her face was stiff, but as she neared the window, her expression changed.

"Dad?" she said faintly. The door of the helicopter open. A man with deep brown hair and tiered blue eyes, smiled at her. His white teeth shined with a few coffee stains. I didn't recognize him. He eyed Star and opened his mouth.

"This is for your own good, Sera," he said as her took out what looked to be a shiny needle with an aqua colored liquid. Star's head went back and her body fell limp and he grabbed her, and pulled her in before she could fall out of the sky. "Shut the door!" He yelled.

Right before the door closed I caught a glimpse of who else was in there. I only saw one face I knew, and it was of Dr. ter Bortch. This was _really_ bad.


	11. Hospital Nightmare

**11: Hospital Nightmare**

_Sera is in a waiting room of a hospital. She looks around. There are other kids, younger and older than her in the room. They're sitting on couches and chairs, waiting. _

_On the wall there is a large white board. Dry erase markers scribbled names, numbers and notes on it. _

_Her name is some were in the middle of the list. To the right of her name is a series of seven numbers. Some have one digit, some have two: 9, 28, 7, 52, 8, 14, 95... The note, "Blood work," follows them. What would they do to her?_

_There were other kids' names above and below hers. At the top she read: Daniel, Gail, Rose...then her name. _

_A chubby brunette girl who looked about ten years old stares at her. "What are you here for?" she asks. "I'm here for two things." The girl's light blue sweater and turquoise skirt looked wrinkled. _

_Sera looked at the board. There's a girl's name written below her own name that had only two numbers next to it. Sera assumed the numbers were different things that the doctors would have to fix. The girl's name would be Sierra, in that case. The numbers were: 10, 12._

_"I don't know what I'm here for," Sera admits. All she knew was that she was here for more reasons than anybody else. Seven...maybe eight things... What was blood work supposed to mean?_

_Sera has a pit feeling in her stomach as a red headed kid about the same age as the Sierra girl, sits to her left. Sierra in quiet, on her right about two seats over. The only thing keeping the red head boy's distance from her was a small table piled with three magazines._

_The boy looked like he was carrying a red inhaler. Asthma? But it didn't look the same shiny way most inhalers looked. It was waxier, and the mouth piece was too big. Like it could cover your nose too. Maybe it was a newer kind._

_"Hi," he says. Sera looks away. She glances across the room at a silent, dark haired boy about her own age. Fang? No, he looked too boney. Another boy the same age had like this mushroom-cut blond hair. He was wearing sunglasses. Iggy? _

_The kid next to her pokes her. She turns back to him, her face plated with irritation. The boy smiles._

_Sera hears footsteps coming closer into the room. Foot step of an adult. Fear washes over her as the doctor enters the room. _

_The doctor's foreboding grin makes Sera's muscles tense. The boy smiles at the doctor, and then looks back at Sera._

_Before she could say anything the boy smacks the inhaler to her mouth. Sera knows she shouldn't breathe in. Her eyes are wide with fear. The doctor watches, grinning. He's expecting her to fall unconscious._

_Sera struggles to push the thing away with her tong and lips. But the boy just pushes it at her, harder. At the same time, she is holding her breath. Sera lifts her hand to knock it away. The boy slaps her hand and pushes it down. _

_Sera gives him a small kick to the side of his hip. He grids his teeth, biting his lip. His grip loosens just enough for Sera to escape. The inhaler is knocked to the floor. Sera smiles, as she picks it up in a split second. Anger clouds her mind. _

_She puts it to his mouth. Holding it as hard as she can. She holds the back of his head. He struggles and tries to say "No," in a high pitched way. Sera's foot holds his body down in the chair. Hands keeping the inhaler in place. Suffocating him. _

_Then his body quits. It's relaxed, calm. His eyes close, and he's unconscious. Not dead, she realizes. He's been drugged with a chemical inhaler only temporary._

_Sera is happy. Too happy to see what even else is going on in the room around her. Too proud to see what is coming. _

_She looks at the doctor. He is not happy. He takes a needle, containing a clear liquid and Sera feels a stinging sensation. Everything goes black. _


	12. Lie after Lie

**12: Lie after Lie**

Sera opened her eyes and glanced around. Where was she? Everything was so bright and blurry. Then she remembered. She had been captured.

A shadow loomed over her and a body appeared. The face was a familiar one. It was kind, gentle and caring. It was her father's.

A thought rushed through her. _He's not my real father_. He had done this to her. He had lied to her, her whole life. He and his wife. They weren't her parents, and never will be.

"I think she's awake," he whispered to another blurry figure in a white coat, behind him. It nodded.

"Hello honey," he said in a sweet voice. Sera shuddered and pretended she didn't hear. "I know you're awake, so you can stop pretending." His voice more serious this time.

"What are you going to do to me?" she groaned. She meant to yell it at him, but she didn't have the energy.

"Nothing really. We just wanted you back. That's all. Your mother and I were worried sick. Right now you're in a hospital. They said you hand a concussion," he explained.

"I can see where I am, but a concussion?" She hinted sarcasm in her voice. She knew that was all a lie. He was lying to her, _still_.

"Well, they were worried you might have lost your memory. Do you remember what happened? Do you? Where you in some kind of fight?" His face did look worried.

"I don't remember," she lied. Sera tried to sit up, but she found her limbs were straps down with Velcro straps.

"Sorry about the straps. They thought you would hurt yourself or other people if you did have brain damage." He took off the straps. She sat up and realized it was really a hospital room.

She had surely thought they'd take her to the School, or a lab, or someplace where they could experiment on her. Where they could operate on her, or even_ kill_ her.

But here she was, in a hospital. Just a normal hospital, or so they lead her to believe. Her father left the room. Sera wanted to get up, but she was attached to an IV. She took it off and the machine that tracked her heart rate went beep, and then silent.

Sera went to the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. She had a deep cut on her left shoulder that had been stitched up. Or her right cheek there was a bruise that was discolored to a weird yellow-brown. She had smaller bruises on her arms. She had had a big purple bruise on her left knee and scratches on her legs.

Nothing severe. Nothing she couldn't deal with. No broken bones, she was okay. Sera's hair was a mess though. She used water from the sink to brush it down with her hands. She took the hand soap and some water to wash her face that was dirty.

Sera felt different now. She had never had to go to the hospital her whole life. Well, except for the time she was tested for strep throat, but she never_ slept_ in a hospital. Sera went back to the hospital bed and sat down.

A blond woman appeared at the door way and Sera knew who she was. "Mom?"

The woman's face perked up and tears filled her eyes. She came over to Sera's bed and hugged her. "You do remember!" You don't have amnesia!" She exclaimed.

"You do remember..." she repeated in a weak voice after she was done coddling Sera. Her mother's eye where red from crying. "Remember I will always love you." She was rejoicing that her little Sera was back. But Sera wasn't little. She wondered if her mom had a clue why she ran away.

Her father was back in the room, sitting in the chair near the door. "Mom, Dad. What's going on?" Sera asked. Her face concerned.

Her mother opened her mouth, and then refused. She choked up and held back the tears as she prepared to give an explanation. Sera prepared herself for more lies, and maybe even the truth.

"A couple days ago, you ran away," she paused. "And we told the police. They found you the other day, unconscious in a park near Chicago." Her explanation was definitely a lie. "We're just so happy to have you back, sweetie. Whatever reason you ran away...it's all in the past. And we can fix it."

"I ran away..." Sera trailed off. "I ran away because you never told me that I was adopted," Sera explained.

Her mom gave her a funny look. "Where did you get the idea that you were adopted?" Sera kept her mouth shut, not wanting to go any further with this conversation.

Her mother left the room, sniffling. Was her mother part of her father's scheme? Or did she have no clue what was happening? But why would she lie to Sera that she wasn't adopted if she wasn't in the mess?


	13. The Truth is Hard to Take in

**13: The Truth is Hard to Take In**

Sera's mind raced. What if that was all true? What if she really did _run_ away and took a bus and ended up in a park, knocked out cold. What if the whole meeting the flock thing, the wings, powers..._Flyboys_...where all part of a reality her mind created? A dream.

But the only thing she had to prove that she was not crazy was her laptop. She had kept record of things that had gone on, in there. But where was the laptop? Did her dad take it back?

This was all too confusing to take in. Maybe Sera could just bust out of this place, fly away. Leave these problems behind. Maybe she could find the flock again.

Sera felt for her wings, but that area of her back felt numb. She checked her back and reached her arm back to feel for feathers. Nothing.

Maybe it had all been a dream. She was probably delirious that one night she hopped on the bus to Chicago. People probably staring at her thinking she was a freak because she thought she was flying. Then maybe some crack addict jumped her.

But the order of how thing happened was screwed up. Like when she got that phone call to go home. Maybe the person at Dunkin Donuts put chemicals in the batter. She was probably hallucinating then too. That whole day.

Footsteps once again. Her dad casually walked into the room. She hadn't even notice him leave earlier. "There's my special Sera. We'll make her all better."

Sera watched him closely. Sure to be alert. She couldn't believe she was insane. She couldn't believe it was only her imagination.

"What did you do to Max and flock? Where are they?!" What did you do to me?!" Sera yelled. Rage filling her voice.

"Now, now. Don't get angry or the straps go back on. I have no idea what you're talking about," he said sternly.

"What happened to my wings?! Of course you know what I'm talking about! You're the one who drugged me and 20,000 feet from a helicopter!" she said with less screeching.

Her father's face was emotionless. Like she wasn't a person; she wasn't his daughter. "Why haven't you terminated me yet? Wasn't that your plan? To kill me? Huh? Huh?! HUH?!" She screeched louder. A wave of hot furry rushed through her whole body.

His face was filled with fear. Fear that she could hurt him with the flick of her wrist. Fear that she had power over him. She could her him, and she thought about it. She tried to keep her rage under control. His fearful look faded away quickly.

He let out a sigh. "The flock will be terminated soon. They're time is almost up anyway. As for you, they think you could be useful" Sera's jaw dropped. He was actually telling her the truth now, and she knew it. But what did he mean by their time is almost up.

"We adopted you because they were going to terminate you away, and your mother and I could have children. You showed no signs of what you were meant to be. Now powers. To them you were just a failed experiment. You were normal. That's why I took you home. Your mother protected you from knowing the truth all these years..." he trailed off. A tear fell from his eye. Sera had _never_ seen her father cry before.

But there was still a lot he wasn't telling her. Like, where did he hide the laptop? Another man walked into the room wearing a white coat.

"Dr. Langston, shall we proceed as planned?" he asked. Her father, Dr. Langston, nodded.

"Deep down in Sera's mind she was thinking his explanation was in fact, a lie. They were just testing her.

Dr. Langston looked at her like she was an animal again. His lip move and whispered. "I'm sorry. This won't hurt a bit."

"Sera stomach did a flip and she knew what was coming. It wasn't good. Make her useful? This couldn't be a real hospital then! And whatever is going to happen to her, she wouldn't like.

A cold sharp pain ceased her right arm and then the world around her blurred and faded away once again.


	14. Googlepaloo!

**14: Googlepaloo!**

I still couldn't get over the fact that Marian Jansen wasn't dead. Does anybody just die these days? Seems everybody I kill just comes back to life.

The other thing on my mind was Star. She had been caught by them. But where had she been taken? What were they going to do to her?

My next thought was, _they're going to kill her, right?_ We just had to get her before they do that. And having her around wasn't all that bad. I had another girl my age to talk to. And Iggy was starting to bond with her. He liked nice girls.

We had decided to take a break and try to figure out where they might have taken her. Fang had his lap top and started Googeling stuff. He checked his blog before, but he didn't have a word from Star.

Before Star was caught, she had stared at that one man. She was surprised. She had called him Dad. Star said she didn't know she was adopted. To her friends and family, she was Sera Langston. Normal teenage girl.

She said her dad gave her a special laptop. That he had a doctorate and an expert in biotechnologies and genetic engineering. So he would be Dr. Langston then. I couldn't place what his first name was. Something with a "D."

"Derek. Derek Langston," Angel said.

"Okay, so we're searching Dr. Derek Langston biotechnology expert?" asked Fang.

"Yeah. Just put something like that, " I replied. He clicked the search button. A couple of the links were trash. Had nothing to do with us. Some weren't even in English. Finally I saw a link that said "Biogenetic professor suggest recumbent DNA brings extraordinary abilities."

"Click that one," I pointed. Fang clicked. There was an article about how DNA could be grafted in such a way that the products could have control over things ordinary humans can't. It mentioned telepathy, telekinesis, control over heat, light bending. And there were other ones too.

I saw too familiar names. Langston and ter Bortch. So they did know each other. They worked together. The article also mentioned they were working on an experiment currently that could very well possess these abilities. The article was labeled September 19th, 1991.

I'm sure that they were talking about Star. Maybe me also, but Jeb was the one who over saw my development. And fast flying wasn't much. Iggy and Fang didn't have any other powers to show for either. We just have natural enhanced human abilities. Nudge, Gazzy and Angel are the ones with the strange abilities.

We added the link to favorites, and saved it for reference. We went back to the search engine and looked some more. Another link mentioned a place called the _Hospital_. It was located in Philadelphia.

We clicked on the small picture so we could see it larger. I gasped. I've seen this before. Back when I used to get those really bad headaches, I'd see these images. Now I was starting to feel one coming. Go there, Max. The Voice cut in. I saw an image of a hospital bed, and Star was in it.

"Are you okay, Max" Gazzy asked concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just another head ache," I reassured.

"I thought you didn't get those anymore," Nudge reminded.

"Well, I don't know." I looked down at the screen again.

"Maybe you're thirsty, drink some water," Total suggested, wagging his little tail.

"Yeah, it is hot today," Iggy said.

"I haven't noticed," crackled Fang. I couldn't get my eyes off that screen. We needed to go there. This isn't just some hunch. The message was clear. _Go, Max. Go to Philly. You can still save her, _the Voice chanted.

"Fang, guys. We're going to the_ Hospital_. We're going to Philadelphia," I said in one slow breath. We had to hurry. She was our only hope. And if she's gone, we got nothing.


	15. Missile Blow

**15: Missile Blow**

We soon found out that we were in Ohio because Angel was the first to stop Lake Erie. "It's called Lake Erie probably because there are monsters in it," she announced.

"There's no such things as sea monsters, don't worry," I told her. "Anyways, to get to Philadelphia, we have to go south east. We don't have to fly over a great lake."

"Okay Max." We flew more south then. A whistling noise came from behind us. I saw the rest of the Flock faces become alert. They knew. _Flyboys._ Guess what weapons they were using.

_Heat seeking missiles. _

"We are flyboys 2.5. Missile unit. Ready to destroy the flock," they chimed.

_The small rocket followed us with each little twist and turn. We stayed in the south east direction, and flew up and down to confuse the missiles. _

Then the flyboy shot another one.

"Max, I have an idea!" Fang shouted to me. I flew closer.

"Spill it this time," I demanded.

"You know in the movies, when you can fake a movement and the missiles fallow you but blow up into something else?"

I knew what he was getting at. "We give the flyboys a taste of their own medicine?"

"Right," he turned toward the flyboys and said. "Everybody follow me!"

"Oh no, not the water thing again..." groaned the Gasman.

"No, not the water thing," said Iggy. "Fang has a better plan."

"There are only a couple flyboys this time anyway," I said. Which was a huge break. Usually the whole sky is filled with them. Now, barely any!

We flew toward the fly boy as fast as we could. As the flyboys were so close to each other, blocking our straight flight path. But that was a good thing, because we weren't going that far. All of the missiles follow us.

We faked left. Made a sharp turn to the right and the straight. Right to the flyboys. Then at the very last second, we flew up.

There was a flash of orange, and we flew away from the explosion as fast as we could. But something was still following us. Two missiles. Only two.

I looked at Fang, he nodded. We flew toward them, then up. We did a circular formation, in opposite directions. I went counter clockwise, Fang, clockwise. Then,_ Bam!_

Those missiles were gone too. _Off to Philly, _I thought in a singsong way.

"Go! Before anything else comes after us!" I yelled

"Like what?" asked Nudge. "More flyboys?"

"Yeah, like more flyboys..." I rolled my eyes.

"Or a flying sea monster," Total added.

"Not where we're going," I replied.

"Well, where are we going?" she asked. I rolled my eyes once again. Had she been asleep or totally out of it? Or tote out of it? (As she would say).

"I told you like a million time. We're going to Philadelphia. You know the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed. The liberty bell? Yeah, there. This place called the _Hospital_." Could these people be _less_ creative with the names?

"Whatever," Nudge quieted. I'm not trying to be mean, but that girl just asks too many questions!

Only hours later, after we had our snack, (Which is like two whole meals in one. We _really_ eat a lot) we were somewhere in Pennsylvania. I may be really awesome about what direction I'm going in, but I'm not a geography expert. Or a GPS system. I don't know where exactly in the world I am.

Hey! Maybe we will get to her first! Before she is changed or killed or whatever. Improved. With all off that on my mind, including; _how the heck am I going to save the world? _It can make a girl pretty cranky.

I wasn't in any mood to take any crap. So if there are any Flyboys waiting for me, they better be on the lookout. This girl's got mean skills and a bad temper...today. And if you're thinking: _That doesn't sound like the Max I know! _Then you don't recall. I'm the tough one. Even Fang said it.


	16. Where Can a Girl get Some Answers?

**16: Where Can A Girl Get Some Answers?**

_Sera stand in a dark room. She can't see anything. There are no light, no windows. Nothing. Pitch black. No sounds. _

_There is a light tap on the floor. She sees a light appear on the floor, and sees the door. She runs to it, feels for a knob. Got it! No, it's locked._

_Then there is more tapping. Footsteps. Sera backs away. She backs into the wall, behind her, terrified. _

_In the dim light she could see the knob turn. She could hear it. The door opens, and a figure appears. It is an outline of a woman. She steps in._

_Sera sinks down to the cold floor. The lady feels the wall for a light switch. Above Sera's head, a fluorescent light starts to flicker. The lights are on. _

_Sera views her surroundings. An empty white room. Its featureless walls and tile flooring. And the lady standing in front of her with a blank stare. Her face not smiling, nor frowning. _

_That was the lady that was in the helicopter with her. That was the lady Max told her about, who she had killed. The one who had these pathetic ideas about cutting the world's population in half. The Director of Itex._

_Sera builds up energy inside her, though she is weak. Feels it surging in her hands. She stands up and shots it at the Director. The Director moved so fast out of the way, it took a second for Sera to realize she missed. _

_She fired again. Striking blue-white lightning all over the room. The Director moved super-fast, then jumped on top of Sera. Sera kicked her hard, punched her. She didn't react much. She just hit Sera harder. Harder than any other human being could. She's strong, too._

_Marian Jansen had been changed. Improved. She was still on top of Sera, who felt helpless. BAAAAMMM! Right in the head._

Sera jolted up and realized she was still in the hospital room. _Not a hospital_. And that whole fight she just experienced was probably just a dream. Not a memory. It wasn't real. She didn't feel anymore sore. Only her back ached.

She looked around for any changes in scenery. There, near the door, was the woman from her dream. She smiled. "_Who_ are you?" Sera asked, even though she already knew the answer. The real question was, _what are you?_

"I am the director," she replied, solemnly. "I am the one in control. The one who will answer all of your questions if you corporate."

_Corporate with what? _Sera thought. What were they up to? Why was she here?

"Sera, Sera Lightwing or do you prefer Star?" she asked.

"Star, please," Sera said. She nodded.

"Star, I know that this is hard for you, knowing that you are good natured. Shy, maybe even a bit weak. But you are strong, inside. Powerful. And we are just trying to help you. We want to unlock that power. You just have to do something for us," she explained. Why was she being so nice? It was almost motherly, until she got to the last sentence.

"What?" Sera locked her eyes on hers.

"You'll see," she said. She was close to Sera. So close to her bed. Sera was too distracted by her face to notice that she had been strapped in. Sera couldn't sit up or move. Everything was numb. Her face was the only thing still working now.

Marian...she remembered her name now. She had duct taped her mouth shut in a blink of an eye. Before Sera could bit her or spit in her face. Duct tape was on her fingers. She couldn't use her powers.

She was trapped more than ever, and she was awake. They decided to torture her this way. Let her see what they were going to do. They wanted her awake for this procedure.

_We are doing this for your own good_, a voice rang in her head. Sera only hoped it was true. Why couldn't she just find some straight answers around here?


	17. The Sweet Break-In

**17: The Sweet Break-In**

"That's kind of bigger than I expected," I sighed. "New plan. We need to find a way to break in without being seen, or heard."

"So does that mean an explosion won't help? Not even a distraction?" asked Iggy.

"No. We don't want to start anything on fire, yet. Star's in there, somewhere." We just didn't know where.

"I can hear her Max," said Angel. "They got her. The Director has her in a hospital room." Well that narrows things down! A hospital room, in the _Hospital_. Bet there's not many of those. Angel pouted. She heard that. I forgot to watch my sarcasm in my thoughts.

"Do you know what floor? Wing? General area?" I asked her. She concentrated and then shook her head. I guess Star had no clue where she was either. "Can you talk to her telepathically?"

"Yeah, of course! What should I say?" she asked.

"That she's in a place called the _Hospital_ and that we're coming to rescue her." She closed her eyes and looked up at me again. The rest of the flock was eager to hear what Star's reply was.

"She says to hurry. They're doing something really bad to her, but she's not sure what."

"Are they going to turn her evil?" asked Nudge. "Are they gonna turn her against us, and make her kill people?"

"I sure hope not," I said, and meant it. Then Fang would go all _I told you so _on me. Fang already was glaring at me then.

Iggy had his head down. He probably would feel terrible if they changed her. He did care about her.

"I miss Star," said Gazzy. A few nights ago him and her we having a singing contest, and Gazzy won. He did Weird Al songs more like weird Al than Star could do Hannah Montana songs like Hannah Montana. There was a chorus of "me too"'s by everyone.

Total said, "She treated me more like a person than a dog. And she did it better than all of you." His voice sound sad but sure. We all missed her, and that was all the more reason to get her back.

Sera had become part of our flock in a course of only days. She would play with Angel. Girl talk with Nudge. Sing with Gazzy. Laugh at all of Iggy's jokes. She talked about having a mom and a normal life, to me. She would talk computers and blogging with Fang and Nudge. She had her own laptop, and a blog.

"So, what your plan then?" asked Fang.

"Well...," I started. "Half of us break in through the roof, and the other half find another entrance on the side. Like a window...if the building has any window that actually open," I suggested. I guess I really didn't have a plan. It was usually one when we come from both sides. Or split up into teams.

"So, maybe Nudge, Gazzy and me in the vents, and you'll find another way in?" Fang suggested. Now I had an idea.

"Iggy will listen for someone coming out the door, and Angel will control people to let us in. I'll punch the first person who tries to attack us," I said. They all nodded.

We made sure it was all clear before Fang, Nudge and Gazzy flew to the top of the building to sneak into the vents. Me, Iggy, Angel and Total waited quietly in the bushes making sure no one would see us.

A couple people came and go but didn't notice us. We waited for and to give us a signal. Any thought, sound, word he might use. Angel, Iggy or Me would catch it. Nothing. We would be on our own.

"Angel? Are you ready? Next person to walk out of there, give them the act," I said. She knew what I meant. The sweet little girl act. My favorite was the Girl Scout cookies one. It used to get us money, but we didn't need it. We just needed to get in.

Angel ran up the steps, knocked on the door, and jumped back in the bushes. "Ow! That hurt! My paw!" Total winced.

"Sorry," said Angel.

"Shhhhhh...Someone's coming," whispered Iggy. Angel climbed back up the steps and waited for my signal.

A hairy armed man wearing a blue polo-shirt and khaki colored slacks answered the door. "Hello," chimed Angel's sweet voice. "I'm Angela Conner. My mom dropped me off here for Brownie Scouts and I'm here to learn about what people do at hospitals."

The man smiled, and Angel smiled back. "I'm sorry, but if you want to learn about hospitals, you should visit the main Philly clinic hospital across town. This one's only for private care. Not open to the public," the man tried to explain. I clicked my tong. Work your magic, my sweet little Angel.

"If I could just come in for a sec, and use your phone. I need to call my mom," she told him. Then his expression changed. He insisted she come in and use the phone. She followed his to the front desk. The door was left open. The man was distracted. We were in.


	18. They're Back

**18: They're Back**

"Watch it!" said Nudge as Gazzy knee the back of her leg. They were crawling through dark and stuffy air vents. Nudge prayed that Gazzy wouldn't try to pull a smelly one on them.

"Shhh, be quiet," Fang whispered. He shined the flash light ahead. Nudge saw that it was just an empty metal shaft. No one was there.

Then there was a sound. _Rip! _"Gazzy!" cried Nudge. The Gasman giggled. Fang sounded like he was hiding a laugh too. They didn't call him the Gasman for nothing.

They made a turn into another tunnel. Nudge could see the Hospital room that Star was in when she touched the wall of the vent. That's why they were following her.

There was a light somewhere in the tunnel. A bit further and they would come to the opening. Nudge knew it went to the room Star was in. She just knew.

"There that's where we can get in," she told them. "Of course we don't want to get caught, so we should just wait and listen. Maybe they'll leave the room so we can rescue her," she babbled quietly. Fang hushed her again.

As they came to the opening, they made sure they were extra quiet. Nudge wondered what they were doing. She heard voices. A man and a woman. They were talking about stuff Nudge wouldn't understand. To her it was complete gibberish. The first real word she recognized was neuro-transplant. It was a science and medical terms.

Nudge was great at first aid, but she wasn't like a doctor. More like a caring nurse. She watched what was going on in the room. She couldn't see Star's face, but she knew Star felt nervous and helpless. She saw some needles and other surgical tools.

Nudge also saw, with her mind, that Max was in the building, but she kept quiet. "Oof!" Nudge felt something cold and hard hit her.

Down the tunnel there was a pair of glowing eyes. Like a wolf.

The people in the room below said something and looked up at the vent. They heard her. And now they saw her. They were caught.

_Meanwhile..._

"What's your phone number?" asked the man. Angel stared at him, and then looked away.

"Ummm...," she paused. I watched her and grunted silently. Now what? We knock him out, right?

Angel was distracting him with trying to remember the "phone number." I snuck up from behind him. Quiet as possible. I knocked him in the head and he stumbled to the ground.

"Anyone in there?" called a man's voice. It was a very rough voice. "Hue, are you okay in there? I thought I heard something fall!" The pounding on the door increased. "Who locked this door? Open up!" he yelled. "That's it. I'm coming in."

The door flung open and another very hairy man walked in. Guess people don't shave much around here. The man's eyes glared at mine. He was not a good guy. He was armed. "Let's go!" I called out to Iggy, Angel and Total. Total jumped on top of the recipient desk and into my arms.

I unfurled my wings and got ready to fly down whatever corridors were behind that door. "Reinforcements needed in waiting room one pronto," he said into his walkie-talkie. Then something unexpected happened. That man morphed.

He became _an_ eraser. A real live actual breathing _Eraser_. And we thought they were all dead! And he defiantly wasn't on our side.

He wasn't like the ones who were imprisoned and scheduled for extermination. He wasn't losing hope. Maybe he wasn't going to die. Maybe there were more erasers left too.

And seconds later, there were. More Erasers. Not flyboys. And there were all against us.


	19. Playing With Fire

**19: Player With Fire**

Star couldn't move. She could only watch. She heard it. They were doing something to her. She just didn't know what.

She knew that the Flock had come to save her from these terrible changes. But she was afraid they were already too late. She heard growling and pounding from above, in the vents. That was where Nudge, the Gasman and Fang were hiding. Now they were caught.

Her only hope was that Max, Iggy, Angel and Total would come through. She thought about it. It was her fault that they would be captured and the world would never be saved. She would be the cause of all of those deaths.

The cause of the Flock's death. Fang would have been right to not accept her into the Flock. She should have just stuck to her first plan. To save Chicago. Before she decided to take the chance to join the Flock, she had a crazy idea. To be like a super hero.

To save people in her own city. Because even she had her doubts that the Flock would be real. She had thought it was a joke blog. Now she had to do something to save them. But she was helpless. Her powers weren't all that powerful. Even her greatest power was only good on Flyboys.

Now the Erasers were back. Real Erasers. They had all been improved. She overheard her operators talking about how much lighter, smaller, strong and faster these Erasers were. They could fit in the vents.

_Click! _Star felt something in her mind snap. Or maybe it was outside her mind. She was overcome with dizziness. She felt like she was outside her body. Floating away. Only hearing and watching...then only hearing.

A word floated by and it sounded like, "Complete." What was complete? The _procedure_.

Then she heard nothing. She saw a flash. A flicker like a candle's flame. It wrapped around a thought. She smelt something burning. _Iggy. _She didn't really know it. Iggy had used one of his special bombs to start a fire.

_BAM! _Fire spread throughout the room. Iggy smiled at his work. The Erasers backed off. I grabbed Angel and Total. Iggy held on too. And we ran.

Out of the room and down the hall. "That way!" said Angel. I didn't know who or where she was getting these directions from, but I took her advice anyways. We had a few Erasers on out tail. They ran after us. They ran _fast_.

"Time to fly!" I yelled. We jumped and spread our wings. We flew down the wide halls as fast as we could. Angel was hugging Total hard against her.

"Oh my God!" screamed Total. I couldn't help but to look back at what he meant. Despite not seeing wings on these Erasers at first. These smaller Erasers. They had wings!

"Fly faster!" I held onto Iggy and Angel's arms with all my strength. I beat my wings as fast as I could. I flew fast. With every twist and turn I heard a scream of joy from Angel, and a scream of terror from total.

We flew up the stair case and Angel pointed "There!" A door with the number four was painted on it.

Iggy said, "Why?" He couldn't see where she was pointing, so why should it matter?

"It's the right floor? Number four?" I asked.

"Yes she's on the fourth floor," Angel repeated.

"Any idea what room number?" I asked.

"I'll know it when I see it." And we head something. There was a loud commotion coming from the second door on the right side of the hall way. The door abruptly swung open.

I dreaded what I saw inside.


	20. An Unwelcomed Surprise

**Part Two- Stick a Fork in me- I'm Done!**

**20: An Unwelcomed Surprise**

The face I saw before me wasn't only familiar to me. It was my own. A mirror to my own. Except this face was grimacing. I knew this face. Max 2.0 wasn't dead. Unless this was some sort of Max 3.0.

"Not so fast," she said. She grabbed my arm before it could twitch.

"Nice to see you again," I told her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you are, Max." It had to be my clone. Then, right then and there, something happened to her. Something I had nightmares of happening to me.

She went full-fledged eraser on me. Her face was ruined by those sharp teeth and all that fur.

She gave a blood thirsty growl and pounced like a puppy, knocking my body against the wall. I kicked her wolf body and I was finally on top of her.

This wasn't a cat fight. No, this was a bird-and-dog fight in the middle of the hospital hall way. I tried to hold her body down and I stared into her eyes. Her brown, wolf eyes. They were cruel eyes. She wasn't the hopeless girl scheduled for extermination anymore. And if she hurt any of my flock, there would be no mercy.

She scratched my arm, hard with her sharp claws. A nice addition to my collection of scares already covering most of my limbs. Then she rolled on top of me. She had me pinned like a fly on the wall.

I saw her face loose its snout and fur, but not it's furry. She was almost human. Keyword- almost. "Had enough?" she asked.

"Enough? I'm just getting started!" I clenched my hand in a fist on the arm that wasn't throbbing, and gave her a good wack in the nose. Blood started to drip out of her right nostril. Then she let my other arm loose and my legs were free. I double leg snap-kicked her right in the chest and she tumbled into the wall opposite of me.

Free at last! I jumped up on my feet and started running as fast as I could. Then I remembered, I was supposed to get Star. I ran back to the room she was supposed to be in. I could start smelling the smoke from the fire below. I heard sirens of a fire truck coming closer. The fire alarm was still sounding throughout the building.

But in the room, there was no Star. It was completely empty. Except for Max 2's motionless, but still breathing body. It was all a setup, anyway. Max 2.0 attacked me as a distraction to get Star out before I got to her.

Maybe everyone else had better luck, but I had failed. I failed to retrieve Star. Where could she be? The probably evacuated everyone in the building by now. She was maybe attached to a stretcher.

My flock already escaped the building during the fight. I had to get out of here before Max 2 woke up and the flames burned us both. But was it against my nature to just leave her there, like that? She'll probably wake up on her own and get out herself before she dies.


	21. Star's Back!

**21: Star's back!**

I flapped my wings down the stair case, and in a panic toward the window. The air was filled with smoke, choking my lungs. Even with my eyes, everything seemed a bit foggy. I smashed into the window and the glass shattered instantly.

Outside there was a number of fire trucks, ambulances and police cars lined up. I spotted the flock hiding by a tree nearby. All there were many stretchers of patients all scattered around the park. But none of them Star. Then I looked back at the flock hiding, there was a tall blond girl in a hospital gown walking toward them. She started talking to Nudge. Then Nudge gave her a hug. It was Star.

I started walking over there, but then I realized I had a few cuts on my skin, and it hurt to walk. I watched Iggy give her something. It was her backpack. "Thank you!" she said. "I think I need to get some real clothes on!"

I walked slowly to them and when I was close enough, Fang said, "Hey! Max! How'd it go with your clone?"

"Um...not so great, but I beat her," I said gripping my sore arm.

"Max..." I heard from behind me. I turned around, and there Star was. But I really wasn't sure what to think about her.

"What did they do to you?" I asked.

"I...I don't really know." she replied.

"They were going to do surgery on you! And I saw it, they were gonna cut you open, and it was so, so scary watching it..." Nudge explained.

"I knew that much, I think. But I don't think anything happened. My parents were in there telling me that you guy weren't real. Well, my fake parents. They said it was my imagination!" She looked pretty sad as she said that. "It wasn't a dream thought. You guys are real!"

"That may be true, but still. How do we know you're not going to turn into an eraser or go all evil on us?" asked Fang suspiciously.

"Well, I know I'm not evil. And I'd never turn on you guys!" She started tearing up bit.

"What's wrong?" asked Angel.

"It's just that...when I was in there...I had this strange dream. And then I was fighting that lady we met before. Um...Marian. And she was soooo strong!" Her voice quivered. "And then I woke up, and she was there. We talked about something, and then everything went blank again."

"It's probably nothing to worry about. We'll figure it out though," I replied.

"Okay. Ow! My stomach just growled and I just realized it's empty. Can we get something to eat?" Star asked.

"Sure, but I think we have to clean up and change those clothes first," I told her.

"I guess you're right. You're always right Max," she said.

"Can we get some Philly style food this time? Since we're in Philadelphia and all?" Total panted.

"Yeah, like a hot dog or hamburger!" said Gazzy.


	22. Bright Idea

**22: Bright Idea**

After eating a meal of greasy, inexpensive fast food, we retreated to a state park nearby. State park have been our savior for ever since we started being bird-kids-on-the-run. They're beyond peaceful.

Iggy still seemed uneasy. Star was still looking worried. Nudge and Gazzy was hyped, as usual. Angel was quiet, and so was Fang. Total was wagging his little tail and talking to Nudge about butterflies. As for myself, I was downright _wonderful_. But relieved is more like it.

"Hey! Look at that one, it all yellow and stripped? It look like a tiger, only it's not orange or whatever. Is it a swallow-tale?" Wow, is it spring already? Haven't noticed. The butterfly fluttered away to a scrub full of lavender flowers.

Iggy groaned. Of course, he couldn't see it. Star looked at him. Then slowly she started to say, "Hey, Ig. I just had this great idea. I think I know how to get your eye sight back."

Not what I expected. She got out of a secret hospital procedure sponsored by a group of pathetic bio-engineering scientist, and now she thinks she could perform a miracle that might cure Iggy's blindness? Talk about ironic. Did they give her some kind of new ability or something? As far as we have seen, her outer appearance, including her wings, haven't changed at all. God knows what changed internally.

"Okay. Give it a shot. As long as you don't kill me or anything," said Iggy. He had humor and sadness in his voice. Would he still recognize things after not being able to see for most of his life? He'd probably be over joyed at just being able to _see_, I concluded.

Star put her right hand to Iggy's forehead. Then she closed her eyes. She was in deep concentration and her face showed a peaceful smile. I almost started to compare her to Angel. Was she looking inside Iggy's head or something? Could she do that?

There was a spark that can from her hand. Iggy pulled back and blinked. Then Star opened her eyes, looking concerned. She held Iggy by the shoulders and stared into his eyes. She gave him a stare that could almost seem evil.

I was about to get up and push Star over, thinking she was controlling his mind. Looking into his thoughts for some source of information. Was she working for the bad guys now? Was she evil?

The deep stare that she gave made Iggy stare and then something from his eyes cleared. He blinked. He looked down at his hands. Actually looked at them. Them he looked back up at Star. Then all around. His facial expression was full of shock and surprise. What happened?

"Guys...I think I can see," he said. "Everything is just so...so bright!"

"Are you sure?" I asked him. The rest of the flocked was looking at him with baffled expressions.

Iggy looked at Star again. "It hurts. It just came like a burst of light." He looked at the sky like it was the first time he ever saw it. "So that's what sky-blue looks like..." he said before his sitting body fell over.

I looked at Star. She was concerned. I looked at Iggy's limp body. Then Star looked satisfied. What the heck did they do to that girl?


	23. The Psycho-Skill Fight Scene

**23: The Psycho-Skill Fight Scene**

"What is wrong with you?" I asked Star. "What did they really do to you there?"

"Nothing's wrong with me. I'm improved," she said confidently. I ran over to her grabbed her arm and pulled her down. II put my knees on top of her. It was easy. Still weak as ever.

"What did you do to Iggy?" She smiled. I thought of Iggy just lying there. It reminded me of my clone in the hospital. I shuddered.

"I help him," she said. I grabbed her head and twisted it toward Iggy. She didn't fight back.

"Does that look like helping him? He's out cold! What happened to him?" She was really testing my nerves. I can't believe what she had. Done.

"I gave him site. And then I let him rest," she said in the same matter-of-fact tone as before. Did she think she was Jesus or something?

"How?" I asked again. "How are you able to do this thing?"

"I already told you. They improved me. Made me strong, Max." She had that smirk on her face again. I was about ready to knock her nose halfway to Alaska. "Don't bother trying that Max. I won't let you. You can't hurt me. I'm stronger," she repeated. "My mind is, at least."

Oh no, they did the inevitable. They screwed with her mind! Now she was like an evil, bigger version of Angel. This is definitely not good, and not just bad. This is a horror movie.

_Oh Max, for you it's a lot worse than that._ And then, without moving so much as her eyes, I went flying into a tree...and my wings wouldn't open up! I couldn't move myself...I fell!

I hit the dirt, hard. It really hurt. I thought I broke something because every time I tried to move after that, something in my body hurt.

I could hear voices through the fogginess. The rest of the flock, not including Iggy, started shouting. Then the fell silent. Star's face was above mine. She looked...evil.

She was no longer the bright, nice Star we've known for a little over a week. She was more of a...dark star. Darkstar. "If you're wondering Max, yes I can read mind. Yes, I can get into minds and yes, I can move things with my mind. Heavy things."

I don't know if that was an insult calling me fat, because as we all know, I am very light in comparison to people my height. Only ninety-four pounds last time I checked. I need to eat more...and we ate only an hour and a half ago. This fight was making me hungry.

I stumbled back to my feet. I don't know how I managed, with the pain and all, but I did. Star...I mean Darkstar, was waiting for me.

Don't get me wrong, but I've had a lot of enemies over the years, but none that could toss an object that weighs almost a hundred pound in the air without moving their own body.

"C'mon, Max. Let's play. How about a nice game of dodge ball?" She held up one of her hand, looking like she was about ready to pitch a fat ball. Then her signature energy-ball-of-light appeared in her palm, but it was maybe, five times brighter. Almost as bright as the sun, only miniature. The flock stared in awe, even though I knew they were only not helping me because Darkstar was somehow controlling them.

She tossed the ball at my chest before I could blink, but my instincts told me to move fast, so I did. The ball flew passed me, and then turned around, a came back. The ball of light chased me around the park. It was just so fast, and I could feel the heat on my wings. My feathers were practically on fire. If I could just fly...but my wings didn't budge.

My whole back ached, though my feet just kept on going. Then suddenly some burst of energy went inside of me. No the energy ball, but something else. Almost like adrenaline, but it made me go even faster. The trees and everything else blurred around me. Dusk and dirt few up in the air. Everything else was in slow motion. The energy ball was still moving just as fast, and it then seemed to be falling behind. Was this a new skill? I felt like I was running at the speed of sound. But I knew I was going in circles.

I suddenly realized that, and then stopped. The energy ball hit a tree, bounced off and hit Darkstar. She fell down, in energy shock.

I just stood there, in front of the flock, which all could move again. "Max...did you just...?" Fang started.

"Move in in super-speed?" I said.

"That was so cool! Max! You're really fast! I wish I could do that!" Nudge exclaimed.

I looked at Darkstar, asleep. I was relieved. Iggy started moving. "What just happened?" he asked.

"Max has a new ability!" Gazzy told him.

"She can move and really, really fast speeds," Angel added.

"Max, your hair...It's all messy," said Iggy.

"You can see!" I exclaimed excitedly. The flocked cheered.

"Yeah, it seems like it," he said bluntly. "So, what happened to her?" he pointed to Darkstar, disappointedly.

"She went all evil on me." He gasped. I could tell he didn't like the sound of that. We had to do something with Star, because we can't lug her around if she's still the evil Darkstar.


	24. A Confused Awakening

**24: A Confused Awakening**

After about twenty minutes of us discussing the Star-turning-evil-problem, Star woke up. "Where are we?" Star asked sheepishly.

"We're at a state park, duh? Don't you remember?" I looked at her and her face was completely confused. She really didn't remember a thing about...Darkstar?

"Well how did I get here? The last thing I remember was us about to leave after eating some lunch, and then I was dreaming, I think. I had this scary nightmare Max! It was so real, yet, so unreal. I was trying to hurt you! I would never do that...I hope those people with the surgery and all. I hope they didn't do anything to me." She must be lying.

_Max, I'm pretty sure she's not lying. This is really Star, not the evil version. I think they did do something to her mind though._

_Thanks for the diagnosis, Angel. _Okay, so maybe she wasn't acting. Maybe she's like one of those psycho serial killers in the movies were they have a split personality, except, this time it's the fault of a mad science experiment gone wrong. Is she becoming like Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hide situation?

"I need some water. I'm so thirsty," Star said as she went through her bag and grabbed a warm water bottle. She drank half of it in a gulp.

"So, you don't even remember...," Iggy started.

"What?" she asked.

"You gave me..."

"You gave him his eyesight back. And don't ask me how you did it because I have no idea," I told her.

"No, I said I don't remember anything. What happened Max? You look all dirty and bruised? Did I do something to you?"

"Yeah, you were using your so-call special abilities to hurt her. And if I could've moved, and you weren't somehow controlling us, then I would have gone after you as you were attacking her," Fang said in a brave but angry voice. That was most he's talked in over a day. And he was talking about saving me, when I'm clearly the tough one.

"It felt like I was being held down by lead weights, whatever you did to the rest of us," Total explained.

"How do you know how that feels?" I asked.

"It feels...heavy, I guess." He tilted his head.

"Star, you threw one of those energy balls at Max, and it acted like a heat seeking missile," Nudge said slowly.

"Yeah, and it whipped around the trees, and it was so cool...I mean, it would of been so cool, you know, if you did it on a bad guy." Gazzy laughed a bit.

"And yeah, it chased Max, and she was running and then all of a sudden, Max became like a blur, and the ball became like a streak and then Max was like practically see through because she was running so super-fast. She was kicking dirt up, though and you could feel like this wind as you passed. Now that was cool." Nudge smiled. She seemed so impressed by my newly found skill.

_And, there will be more to come, Max. _

Who said that? _Oh, it's just you, Voice._

_You and your flock will grow and developed new abilities. Think of it as puberty._

_Yeah, bird kid puberty. _I snickered.

"Max? Is the Voice talking to you again?" Angel whispered. I nodded. She didn't have to say that out loud. But I don't want to get Angel and the Voice confused. I'm still pretty sure the Voice is Jeb still.

_I'm not Jeb, Max. But you will soon find out who I am._

_And then I remembered, Jeb already told me he could do the voice, but he wasn't the Voice. So much for ideas. _

_Now what? _I asked myself. The next thing I knew, there was about three helicopters hovering overhead. My hair whipped in my face. I could just barely make out the face of the Director and Star's parents in one of them. In the others, I couldn't tell.

_Note to self: state parks are no longer safe havens._

I grounded myself, ready for whatever was coming.


	25. Director's Plans

**25: Director's Plans**

The helicopters landed a few yard in front of me, and I got myself right into a fighting stance. The door of the closest helicopter opened and the Director came forward. Star's parents behind her. Then Director opened her fat, red lip-stick mouth, "Maximum, I see that you kidnapped our patient. Her parents and I would like her back."

"Well, maybe she doesn't want to go back with you." I gave her the stubborn look.

"I'm sure she does," she insisted.

"No, she doesn't," I insisted back.

"Mom! Dad!" Star's voice called from behind. She ran toward them and embraced her mom. "I missed you guys so much."

"Everything's okay, dear. We'll take you home and everything will be normal again," her father insured. "You just have to take these. One with every meal." He was holding a bottle of pills.

"You see, Max. Just because she has wings, doesn't mean she wants to take part in your little bird-kid hybrid brigade. Something normalcy is a good thing and being special is bad. But out little Sera is very special, therefore, she must be kept under control. Your abilities, and those of you flock are nothing compared to Sera's." Keeping a straight face, she said, "Understand?"

"What are you suggesting? That Star-I mean Sera, is a weapon? Are you going to use her for terrorism or something?" I asked. With all that power…that huge burst, I could see how that might work.

"Not quite. More like a tool. Under our control rather that unpredictable. She will be able to live remotely normal under her condition, but when our plans come into play, she will be of great use to us. We have her parent's permission." And what horrible parents they must be for allowing such evil plan for their daughter.

"What did you do to her at the hospital? Put in some mind-controlling device in her brain?" This thought scared me. If her brain was now being remote-controlled, then how will she ever become normal again? It's not that easy to find a cooperating brain surgeon when you're a fourteen-year old runaway.

"Something of the sort," the Director said. I wanted to kill her all-over again. "So, Maximum, don't try anything irrational. Or, we will execute you by all means possible. You are but one stain on the red stained white cloth of the world. We'll provide the bleach for those stains if we can. Take it as your last warning."

I stood there, stunned. The Director simply walked back to the helicopter with Star's parents following, and Star leaning against her mom's side. Still frozen as they lifted off, I pondered what would be our next move.

"Fall in!" I said, and the rest of the flock lined up in front of me. "Any of you have an idea how to get her back? We did it once the other day, we can do it again!" I am usually not this optimistic about these things, but a surely was determined to disobey that bitch and show her how wrong she was about this. It's people like her who are the big stains of the Earth, unlike ones who are truly saving it.


	26. The New or Improved

**26: The New or Improved**

"Chase that helicopter!" Iggy exclaimed. Why didn't I think of that?

"Well then, we better hurry!" I spread my wings out. "C'mon, let's fly!" We all ran, jumped and flapped as hard as possible. The flock fell behind me, but that was okay. I needed to keep track of the helicopter where I could see it. They could follow me.

The Appalachian landscape below me rose and fell like an ocean of green. The mountains looked like hills from this high up, though. But, I didn't have time to admire the beauty of it. I had to keep up to the helicopter. I flew above it so the director wouldn't see me. I wanted to take them by surprise as soon as they landed.

Twenty minutes later, the helicopter lost altitude while nearing civilization. With my super-sharp vision, I could see a helicopter landing platform on top of a wide building. I started to dive down, hoping the flock would see my signal from afar. They were only a speck on the horizon still.

Air rushed past my fast and gravity pulled me downward. I felt like a falcon dive for its prey. Sky diving never gets old, even if you having wings. At the last second, I swooped upward and missed a tree branch by just a hair. I flapped to the wide building, not knowing what I would do once they landed. I waited in the tall tree less than a football field away from the building. One minute later, they landed.

I jumped out of the tree and flew ten feet up and landed behind the copter before they got out. The door open and the passengers and driver unloaded, and then the door slammed. I ran as fast as I could, using my newly acquired ability of super-human speed to blur past the director and yank Star from her parents with some of my strength, then run her to the opposite side of the roof.

"What are you doing, Max? MOM! DAD! Help me! SHE'S TRYING TO KIDNAPP ME!" Star yelled. I cupped my handy over her mouth. Her voice muffled.

"Shut up! What's wrong with you? I thought you wanted to get away from them. Dr. Janssen is controlling you! She and your parents are working together. They're just using you!" I exclaimed in a whisper.

I heard her muffled response, which was, "I don't believe you."

I replied, "It's true. Marian even told me. Trust me, I'm not lying. She's lyi8ng to you, though." Star shook her head, and tried to scream again.

The director was taking her time, walking up to us. I stood up with Star in my arms. I wondered if I could carry her in flight, since she wasn't going to corporate. I wasn't sure if we could make it to my Mom and Dad's house with Star as our hostage. She wasn't heavy our anything, but she sure was wiggling a lot. I silently prayed that she would use one of her attacks on me. Last thing I needed was another severe burn, or a broken wing.

"Can you just cooperate with me? She's going to use you as a weapon, for terrorism! Face it. You'll never be normal again. You're better off with the flock. If you want your freedom, you better fly now!" I pointed to the sky.

"But….I can't. I can't fly." Star mumbled.

"Why? You do have wings, don't you?" I felt the feathered limbs brushing my arms.

"No…they don't work anymore. Not unless Marian makes them."

"Makes them, how?" I asked.

"With this device, I think. I not sure really, sorry! I believe you now, but I still can't do anything. Just leave me here, and go. Save yourself!" she pleaded.

"I can't. You're one of us now. We can't leave you. My mom and dad can help you, and get rid of whatever they put in your head that's controlling you. I promise."

"No…Watch out, Max. She's going to..." and then her voice trailed off. One second Marian Janssen was eight yard away, the next she was right there. In a blur she grabbed Star from me and stood 3 yards away.

"Ah, you noticed, Max? I'm like you now, only better and no wings, of course. I'm more like Omega, actually. Only not as inferior as he was. I'm super improved, you could say, _Maxie_." I grunted at the nickname. Now she was absolutely going to get it.

The rest of my flock landed with a quiet thud, and a half of a second later armed guards as well as Flyboys surrounded the roof. "Max! We'll handle these guys, you take care of Marian!" Fang shouted over the Flyboy noises.

Marian set down Star, who start to shake awkwardly and then went limp. "Ready to rumble, _old lady_?"

"Of course I am, _Maxine_." That _bi-otch_!


	27. Says so on The T-Shirt

**27: Says So on the T-Shirt**

Fists flying at the speed of light, kicks snapping at speeds that any professional martial artist would envy, but with no real skill in them. She may be fast and strong, but she obviously wasn't a great fighter before whatever operation she went through. She was a director, not a combat specialist in some military operation.

She snapped a kick at my chest, and her other leg became slightly off balance. I took advantage of her fighting concentration to knock her down with a single leg sweep. She hit the concrete with a hard thud, but got back up easily and quickly. My kicks and punch weren't doing much damage to her. If anything, they were hurting me. Her skin was _hard_.

What was it made of? Stone? Metal? It didn't give like mine did. So, I concentrated on using trips, falls, throws and joint locks. They worked very well, but they didn't seem to tire her. She showed only determination. What the hell was she?

"Sorry Max, I don't feel pain anymore." _Sure you don't_, I thought.

"Then you shouldn't feel this!" I hit her square in the nose, and I heard a snap. Blood oozed out, but she didn't move.

"It's only a flesh wound. It'll heal," she said. And, indeed, it did. About two seconds later.

"Let me guess, you have stem cells in your blood? Am I right?" That, or super-platelets.

"Something like that. Nanobots, actually." Was she like a bionic-woman, actually? Maybe. But then I remember something. I Shot up about eight feet above her and dove straight down with my arm out. I did an aerial flip and kicked Marian in the back of the neck as hard as I could, right where the vertebrates are.

Her head fell back and she stumbled to the ground with a body of dead weight. She wasn't fast enough to see that one coming. My power of flight was a great advantage.

So that that answered my question, she was not bionic. Since the nanobots were only in her blood, they couldn't help her heal the vertebrates for quite some time. She'd be well chaired around for at least twenty-four hours.

The flock had already knocked out all the guards, and possible crippled, put into a coma or killed some of them. The fly boys fell like flies too. Star's parents were had already taken Star away during the fight and I had no clue where she was.

Fang walked over to me and looked down at Marian. "What happened to her?" he asked.

"I gave her a little parallelizing kick in the neck from." I explained.

"Oh, well, that explains it. She seemed like she had super power when I watched you guys. And you defeated her, for now."

"I 'm still conscience," she mumbled.

"Well, girls kick _ass_. Says so on the t-shirt."

"Yeah, they do." And I gave him a little punch in the arm.

"Ow," he said. But he was kidding.


	28. Now we have Star!

**28: Now we have Star!**

I went to Marian paralyzed body and asked. "So, where is this device you're using to control Star…? Sera with?"

"I'm not telling you! What, did you think it would be that easy?

"No, I didn't." I checked in Marian's pocket. Nothing. "Okay, that's it! Tell me where it is or I'll find a way to kill you fast." I held my fist to her. "I know the secret spot to strike that will kill you," I bluffed. I was sure if I really did.

"Yeah, right," she muttered. "Alright. It's not here. It's in my…office."

"You're lying!"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Maybe it's not even in the state. Maybe it's at the Itex headquarters or the new School or-"

"The new School?" I was shocked to hear this.

"It's not real new, it's just another branch of Itex," she explained. "You know, I think I can more my pinkies again. Guess you better get moving before I decide to attack you."

"Guess we should. Guys, let's bounce!" Went took off and flew not too far away. "I'm going to patrol for a while. Maybe Star will find her way out. Maybe Marian will be gone soon."

"Stay safe, Max," said Angel.

"Yeah, come back in one piece," Fang insisted.

I nodded and the rest of the flock waved to me. I didn't expect to be back so quickly.

Star woke up in her father's arm. Her mind was foggy. The last thing she remembered was Marian putting her down to fight Max. "Max!" she cried out.

"Shhh, sh, sweetie. You're safe now," her father said.

"NO! I'm NOT safe!" She yelled and started thrashing. She noticed she that she was back inside the hospital. She wanted out. She trashed harder until her father let go, and stood up. "I HATE this place! I HATE you all!" She glared at them. "I'm leaving, and you can't stop me!"

"But you wings-"

"Screw the wings! I don't belong with you guys! You're terrible parents! Go ahead, disown me! I'm NOT your daughter anymore!" Tears were streaming down her face. She couldn't help it. "I hate you. I HATE YOU!"

Her father sighed. "They'll catch you again, you know. You're not as physically strong or fast as those other mutants.

"I don't care." She ran through the hall looking for an exit. Looking for Max and the flock. _I hope my powers work, at least_. She thought to herself. She knew they did. She could feel the energy in her hands tingling from her fury. She could defend herself. She did have some karate training, but her ability to create energy would do her more good.

She gave up on looking for any other exits, so she decided the roof was her best bet. She stumbled up the stairs as fast as her tired body could and pushed the door open. "MAX!" she screamed. She saw a few figures in the sky. Her body filled with joy.

Sadly, she was on the roof and could not fly because Marian had the device. Max swooped down and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but I still can't fly." Star looked at her back. "My powers still work but I don't know how you'll get me off this roof."

"I think I have an idea that will work." I took the hospital gown and used my dirty nail to tear the thin plastic. I grabbed the ends of her white feathered wing and pulled it out of the gown, and did the same for the other. "Can you feel me touching them even?"

"No. It's like they aren't there anymore. I can't feel them." I spread them out with my hands, opening one at a time. They were limp, no doubt, but would have to do.

"Okay, then. I'm going to help you glide." I walked her to the edge of the roof. "Are you okay with free-falls?" Star winced at the words.

"I think so," she replied weakly.

"Then hold my hand. I'll lead you down. I'm sorry that I can't just fly and hold you at the same time. We're just gonna have to walk back."

I spread my wings wide and grasped Star's arm tightly. "Ready?" I asked her. She looked at me and nodded slightly. "We have to jump at the same time to make this work. On the count of three." She took a deep breath. "One…two…three…JUMP!" We glided of the side of the four-story building and Star wings acted as a parachute. She giggled a couple time. I helped her land.

"Was that fun?" I asked her.

She nodded and then shook her head, "Not as fun as flying for real was." So we walked back to where the flock was without any incident.


	29. We Hotwire a Car to Ohio

**29: We Hotwire a Car to Ohio**

Having another flightless flock member wasn't part of the plan. It sucked. It meant that we had to find another mode of transportation and fast.

Luckily, we had two pyromaniacs with us who knew how to hotwire a car. We tried the first unlocked and empty van we found. In about sixty seconds flat, the engine rumbled.

I hopped into the driver's seat since I had the most experience driving. Not that I ever took drivers education, but last time we stole a car, I drove it. I backed out carefully and drove at a cautious speed. Totally not my thing. I had to be super careful, though. Not all of us could just fly off at the first sign of danger.

Fang was next to me, and all the other were piled in the back. We needed to leave before we were noticed. We weren't sure where we were going, but I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be close.

The New School, she said. Where could that be? It would have to be somewhere secluded. Like, maybe, the desert. Or the mountains. I drove us west, trying not to break any traffic laws. The others started complaining after about an hour. A few hours later, the gas gage was getting close to empty. Talk about a gas guzzler.

I stopped the flock somewhere in the state of Ohio. We didn't really have much money on us, so I wasn't sure what to do. For the first time I could remember, I, Max, felt hopeless. It would be best to leave half the flock with Star while the rest of us go look for the New School.

It's in Utah, Max. The Voice, once again, impressed me with its superior knowledge. I don't know where it came from, but it was there.

"Let me get this straight. You want us to babysit Star while you fly to Utah in search of a place you're not even sure exists? Am I hearing this right?" asked Total. I wasn't really going to tell him that he was staying because he had the least to contribute out of the whole flock, but I might have.

"Well, Fang and Nudge are going to come with me. You guys can protect her. That's it. We can leave her alone and it's inconvenient to bring her since she can't fly and we can't really carry her like we can carry you. No offense Star."

"None taken. So, where are we anyway?" she asked.

"Near someplace called Cuyahoga Valley National Park," Fang replied.

"Wow. You're observant," I said sarcastically.

"Never heard of it. Ohio has a national park? Since when?" Star asked quizzically.

"I don't know. Let's just get you some place safe. Okay? Then we can go find the device."

We found a good place for them to campout. It was a pretty area. I only got a few minute to enjoy it before I grabbed Fang and Nudge and we flew off. Utah awaited us. We needed to find the New School and fast. That device might have some remote satellite link like Iggy mentioned in the car. Star may not have much time.

**Sorry guys if you wanted more! Doesn't look like Part 3 is gonna happen. I got more important things to write and create than fanfiction, but I really hope you enjoyed it! Comment please!**


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